So Sorry––Never Sorry. Ai Weiwei’s Art between Tradition and Modernity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2011.-15.1.113-126Keywords:
traditional Chinese materials, contemporary art, Chinese politics, recontextualization of Chinese traditionAbstract
Ai Weiwei’s 艾未未 (b. 1957) artistic expression revolves around his use of traditional Chinese techniques to create new designs and forms, shaping traditional materials into contemporary configurations. In the face of obstruction from state officials and local politicians, Ai Weiwei exposes himself to considerable personal risk in order to continue his activities as an artist and stay loyal to his convictions. This paper examines the roots of Ai Weiwei’s work in Chinese art history and looks at how the artist has deliberately adapted traditional motifs to bring about a sense of alienation. Ai Weiwei’s unique stance between current trends in western art and the Chinese feeling for handicrafts is also explored.Downloads
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ArtSchoolVets!. 2011. “Ai Weiweis Atelier in Shanghai abgerissen.” Accessed January 12,
2011. http://www.artschoolvets.com/news/2011/01/12/ai-weiweis-atelier-in-shanghaiabgerissen.
“Building Beijing Stadium.” Accessed 7 May, 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FynuR_g-ewo&feature=fvwrel.
BBC News. “China Nobel Row: Artist Ai Weiwei Stopped from Leaving.” Accessed December 3, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11909470.
Bork, Henrik. 2009. “Ai Weiwei erhebt schwere Vorwürfe gegen Peking.” Accessed September 15, 2009. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/china-pruegel-fuerstaatskuenstler-ai-weiwei-erhebt-schwere-vorwuerfe-gegen-peking-1.31578.
Bork, Henrik. 2010. “Subversive Flusskrebse.” Süddeutsche Zeitung 257(6/7), Nov.: 13. CNN. “Ai Weiwei Interviewed on CNN’s Amanpour Part 1.” Accessed March 21, 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyAeLmN_UjA.
Custer, C. 2010. “Ai Weiwei on Confucius: ‘Disgusting’.” Accessed January 20, 2010.
http://chinageeks.org/2010/01/ai-weiwei-on-confucius-disgusting.
Dercon, Chris, and Julienne Lorz. 2009. “So Sorry.” In Ai Weiwei––So Sorry, edited by Ai Weiwei and Mark Siemons, 6–9. München: Prestel.
Freyeisen, Astrid. 2010. “Fröhliches Flusskrebs-Essen ohne Gastgeber.” Accessed November 8, 2010. http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/aiweiwei102.html.
Friedrich-Freksa, Jenny. 2010. “Wir fangen an, Fragen zu stellen.’ Kulturaustausch 3, Accessed December 15, 2010.
http://www.ifa.de/pub/kulturaustausch/archiv/ausgaben-2010/e-volution/wir-fangenan-fragen-zu-stellen.
Hahn, Werner. 2010. “Ai Weiwei: Chinas Justiz verletzt Rechte. Dank an Nobelkomité & Liu Xiaobo.” Accessed October 12, 2010.
http://community.zeit.de/user/wernerhahn/beitrag/2010/10/12/ai-weiwei-chinas-justiz-verletzt-rechte-dank-nobelkomit%C3%A9- amp-liu-.
Herzog, Samuel. 2011. “Die Sache und ihr Sinn.” Accessed January 7, 2011.
http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/kultur/kunst_architektur/die_sache_und_ihr_sinn_1.9014721.html.
Hill, Peter. 2008. “Ai Weiwei.” Accessed April 26, 2008.
http://www.superfictions.com/encyc/entries/ai_weiwei.html.
“Liveauctioneers. Ai Weiwei: Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn.” 1995. Accessed January 10, 2010. http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7042087.
Lorenz, Andreas. 2010. “Künstlerprotest in Peking. Am Ende kamen die Schläger.” Accessed February 23, 2010.
http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/0,1518,679869,00.html.
Osnos, Evan. 2010. “Video: Ai Weiwei’s Transparent Life.” Accessed May 17, 2010.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2010/05/ai-weiwei-video.html.
Seefranz, Catrin: 2007. “Ai Weiwei. Fairytale.” Accessed June 16, 2007.
http://www.artfacts.net/pdf-files/inst/ai%20weiwei%20fairytale%20documenta12-de.pdf.
Spiegler, Almuth. 2010. “Künstler Ai Weiwei: Das Leben erträglich machen.” Accessed July 3, 2010. http://diepresse.com/home/kultur/kunst/578800/Kuenstler-Ai-Weiwei_Das-Leben-ertraeglich-machen.
“Sunflower Seeds.” Accessed October 14, 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8.
Thomas, Gina. 2010. “Jeder Kern trägt eine Botschaft.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 237, 12 Oct.: 31.
Wacker, Gudrun, and Matthis Kaiser. 2008. “Nachhaltigkeit auf chinesische Art. Das Konzept der ‘harmonischen Gesellschaft’.” SWP-Studien 18: 7.
World News. “Bird’s Nest Herzog De Meuron in China.” Accessed January 15, 2010.
http://wn.com/Bird's_Nest__Herzog_De_Meuron_in_China.
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Published
1. 12. 2011
Issue
Section
Contemporary Chinese Art
How to Cite
Becker, Tania. 2011. “So Sorry––Never Sorry. Ai Weiwei’s Art Between Tradition and Modernity”. Asian Studies -15 (1): 113-26. https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2011.-15.1.113-126.
